Eating a yoghurt a day ‘could help treat asthma, arthritis, obesity and heart disease’

Yoghurt helps to calm chronic inflammation in the body, which is linked to long-term illnesses, US scientists found

By Lizzie Parry, Digital Health Editor

14th May 2018, 6:15 pm

Updated: 14th May 2018, 7:13 pm

EATING a yoghurt before a fry up could help ward off the dangers of a high-fat diet, experts believe.

And they said one low-fat pot a day could help ease the agony of arthritis and treat asthma.

Getty - Contributor

Eating yoghurt every day could help ease chronic illnesses like arthritis, asthma, obesity and heart disease

One day, experts say, the breakfast favourite could mean fewer people have to rely on painkillers like aspirin and naproxen, which come with nasty side-effects.

The key is yoghurt's ability to calm chronic inflammation, where the body attacks itself, scientists in the US found.

It's this process that's linked to arthritis, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, as well as obesity, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease and other chronic illnesses.

Volunteers given a 8oz pot of low-fat yoghurt before a breakfast of two sausage muffins and two hash browns, totalling 900 calories, had lower levels of inflammatory markers in their blood stream than those who didn't eat a yoghurt first.

Dr Ruisong Pei, a food scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said: "Eating 8oz of low-fat yoghurt before a meal is a feasible strategy to improve post-meal metabolism and may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease."

The new findings, published in the Journal of Nutrition, shows new evidence that yoghurt can dampen dangerous inflammation - and could provide a safer, long-term alternative to some drugs like aspirin, naproxen and hydrocortisone, for patients in chronic pain.

Scientists have been exploring the potential for dairy products as a treatment for the last 20 years, with mixed results.

Dr Brad Bolling, assistant professor of food science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said it's thought yoghurt boosts the good bacteria in the intestines.

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It's thought yoghurt could help combat the negative effects of obesity, by tackling heart disease and metabolic disease

That in turn, stops inflammatory molecules called endotoxins, from passing into the blood stream.

"There have been some mixed results over the years, but a recent article shows that things are pointing more towards anti-inflammatory, particularly for fermented dairy," he said, referring to a study from last year that reviewed 52 different clinical trials.

Dr Bolling's team looked at 120 pre-menopausal women, half who were obese and half who weren't.

Half of the volunteers ate 12oz of low-fat yoghurt every day for nine weeks.

The other half ate non-dairy pudding for nine weeks - as a control.

Alamy

Chronic inflammation is linked to conditions like asthma and arthritis

Regular blood tests, taken over three years measured key markers in the blood linked to inflammation.

And the results showed that over time, yoghurt-eaters had significant improvements in those key inflammatory markers.

Dr Bolling said: "The results indicate that ongoing consumption of yoghurt may be having a general anti-inflammatory effect."

And in addition, the volunteers were also given a high-calorie meal challenge at the beginning and end of their nine-week diet.It was designed to stress their metabolism, and test if yoghurt can help prevent obesity.

The volunteers were given either a yoghurt or a non-dairy pudding, followed by a fry up - two sausage muffins and two hash browns totalling 900 calories.

Dr Bolling's team found those who ate the yoghurt first, showed improved inflammatory markers as they digested their hearty breakfast.

It helped improve blood sugar levels after the big meal.

Yoghurt lollies made from cerial and fruit are a healthy and delicious

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